Product Director – Product Office, Colleague Experience

Job Description The Colleague Experience Group (CEG) is responsible for all colleague-related benefits and programs globally, including career growth and development, leadership and learning, total rewards and well-being, recruitment, labor relations, colleague servicing, and more. CEG’s vision is to provide the best colleague experience every day to fuel growth, and they are committed to ensuring all of Team Amex has the resources and support they need to be and deliver their best. Within CEG, the Colleague Services (CS) organization plays a key role in enabling this mission by delivering exceptional services, capabilities, data, and insights. The Colleague Product Management (CPM) team within CS leads the strategy, development, and delivery of digital products that power the colleague experience across the enterprise. We are seeking a highly strategic and experienced Product Director – Product Office to lead the operating practices, governance, capabilities, and platforms that enable disciplined product execution and strengthen product and delivery enablement across Colleague Services. The Product Office creates the conditions for great product work—helping teams confidently deliver colleague value, service excellence, and digital impact. This leader will strengthen strategy-to-execution alignment, elevate product management capabilities, reduce friction, and ensure product teams remain aligned to CEG and CS strategic outcomes. The role will lead three core areas: Product Governance and Change Management, Product Delivery Excellence, and Strategic Alignment and Communication. This leader will also own the evolution and adoption of Enterprise Jira Cloud and related portfolio management capabilities that enable transparent prioritization, planning, governance, and delivery. This role will report to the Vice President of Product Office and will be hybrid from our New York office Responsibilities Product Governance and Change Management • Establish and evolve product governance practices that connect strategy, prioritization, roadmaps, investment, delivery, adoption, and outcomes. • Lead portfolio planning and prioritization to ensure the highest-value work is sequenced and aligned to CEG and CS strategic priorities. • Establish scalable change management practices that strengthen stakeholder readiness, adoption, communications, and execution. • Identify and manage key dependencies, risks, and trade-offs across product and cross-functional teams. • Provide transparency into portfolio priorities, progress, milestones, and business outcomes. Product Delivery Excellence • Define and embed product management and delivery standards that enable consistent, high-quality execution across teams. • Establish common product practices, tools, operating mechanisms, and communities of practice. • Partner with Product and Technology leaders to strengthen agile delivery and iterative ways of working. • Use data, colleague feedback, and performance measures to identify friction and continuously improve product delivery. • Build product management capabilities through coaching and targeted capability development. Enterprise Jira Cloud and Portfolio Enablement • Lead the adoption and ongoing evolution of Enterprise Jira Cloud as a core platform for demand management, prioritization, portfolio planning, roadmap visibility, and delivery tracking. • Define scalable Jira workflows, governance, data standards, and reporting that support consistent portfolio management across CEG and CS. • Translate product operating model requirements into technology-enabled portfolio capabilities and ways of working. • Drive adoption, data quality, automation, analytics, and portfolio insights that improve transparency and decision-making. • Partner with Technology and enterprise platform teams to ensure the Jira ecosystem evolves with business and product needs. Strategic Alignment and Communication • Translate CEG and CS strategy into clear portfolio priorities, operating mechanisms, and measurable outcomes. • Establish executive-level reporting that provides visibility into priorities, progress, risks, dependencies, trade-offs, and outcomes. • Partner with senior leaders to drive alignment and decisions across complex cross-functional initiatives. • Create clear and consistent communication practices across Product, Technology, Servicing, and business stakeholders. • Provide data-driven insights and recommendations that support leadership decision-making. People Leadership • Lead and develop a high-performing Product Office team across governance, portfolio management, delivery excellence, and strategic communications. • Build team capabilities in agile portfolio management, product operations, Enterprise Jira Cloud, analytics, and change management. • Foster a culture of colleague focus, accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and product excellence. • Serve as a coach and thought leader on modern product management and technology-enabled ways of working. Qualifications Minimum Qualifications: • 8+ years of experience in product management, product operations, enterprise portfolio management, technology transformation, management consulting, or related disciplines. • Demonstrated expertise with Enterprise Jira Cloud and its application to demand management, portfolio planning, roadmaps, prioritization, governance, and delivery. • Significant experience designing or leading agile portfolio management and product operating models within a complex enterprise environment. • Proven track record establishing scalable product governance, prioritization, roadmap, and change management practices. • Demonstrated ability to connect enterprise strategy to portfolio priorities, product roadmaps, execution, and measurable outcomes. • Experience leading enterprise-scale process, technology, or operating model transformations. • Strong analytical, executive communication, facilitation, and stakeholder leadership skills. • Proven ability to influence senior executives and drive alignment across highly matrixed organizations. • Experience leading and developing high-performing direct, cross-functional, or matrixed teams. Preferred Qualifications • Experience leading or playing a significant leadership role in an enterprise-scale Jira Cloud transformation or adoption, including operating model design, governance, workflows, reporting, and organizational adoption. • Experience with Jira Align, Advanced Roadmaps, Atlassian Analytics, Confluence, or related Atlassian capabilities. • Deep knowledge of modern product management, agile delivery, product operations, and portfolio management practices. • Experience establishing product governance and change management frameworks within a large product organization. • Experience connecting portfolio planning with financial planning, investment prioritization, and capacity management. • Experience using AI, automation, analytics, and digital tools to improve product management and operational effectiveness. • Product management, Agile, SAFe, Atlassian, PMP, or related certifications. • Experience operating within a global, highly regulated organization with complex stakeholder and governance requirements. Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions. About Us At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service. As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience our powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express. About The Team We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally: • Competitive base salaries • Bonus incentives • 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan • Free financial coaching and financial well-being support • Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits • Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need • 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy • Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location) • Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program • Career development and training opportunities For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site . American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions. We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually. US Job Seekers - Click to view the “ Know Your Rights ” poster. If the link does not work, you may access the poster by copying and pasting the following URL in a new browser window: https://www.eeoc.gov/poster. The below represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.